03 June 2016

Grand Canyon

From Las Vegas, we called the Grand Canyon and found that there was a North Rim Cabin open for two nights. This is crazy, usually you need reservations like a year in advance. It was obviously a sign, so off we went.

The Grand Canyon is a special place for both me and Benjamin, but this is actually the first time we have been here together. Last time I was here was five years ago, just before our wedding, when I hiked from the North Rim to the South Rim with my mom and uncle. We stayed in these very cabins before setting off.

Being here made me want to hike so bad. I wanted to be down in the canyon with all the other hiking type people, I wanted to feel the accomplished soreness in my legs, I wanted to be lulled by that rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other to just keep going, I wanted to feel that pure, clean hunger that makes a powerbar taste like manna from heaven.

But it wasn't just my family holding me back, it was also my own body. When I hiked rim-to-rim, I was in arguably the best shape of my life having just trained for a sprint triathlon. In the intervening five years I have completed residency, gestated two children, and hiked or run probably a grand total of 20 miles. So no, I cannot just jaunt down to the Colorado and expect to be able to get back out. And that was a little bit of a tough pill to swallow.

But while I was disappointed to not be experiencing the canyon the way I had before, I found we had a different and also enjoyable experience. We hung out at the lodge. We took leisurely meals in the restaurant there. We walked around the short rim trails. We chatted with other people staying in the cabins - kids are great conversation starters.

We did the very short walk to Bright Angel Point and ran into my friend Stephanie from medical school. She is also in Family Medicine and now works in Colorado. She was on vacation with her brand new fiance, Stephen. We rolled into their vacation like an IUD infomercial. Bear demonstrated his inability to stop talking, tried to steal her engagement ring, and detailed his plans to try to kill his sister.

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As part of our canyon activities, I got to ride a mule. In fact, I was the only one on the ride, so I got a private tour. We rode along the rim, looking down into the canyon and smelling the Ponderosa pines. Almost as good as hiking.

At home in the cabin.

Majesty

"Salt Experiment in Red" Digital Photography. Bear 2016

"Dinner at the Lodge."Digital Photography. Bear 2016

"Wagon Wheel"Digital photography. Bear 2016

"Spokes"Digital photography. Bear 2016

"Backpack Dad"Digital photography. Bear 2016

"Baby Monkey"Digital photography. Bear 2016

These huevos rancheros changed my life.

Canyon kid

Adventure hats

Flowers growing in rock.

Bear loves rock climbing.

We had really clear days - you can see the San Francisco peaks on the horizon.

Bear chats with Stephanie

Good view of the rim of the Inner Canyon.

Canyon selfie

I'm on a horse. Mule.

Outside the cabin in mom's shoes

Will you ever have enough pictures of gnarled tree trunks?No, no I will not.